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Tiger Stadium (MI) (Images of Baseball)

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Baseball was played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in Detroit for over one hundred years, beginning in 1896 until the last game on September 27, 1999. This wonderful book from Arcadia Publishing tells the story of Tiger Stadium through the eyes of Irwin Cohen, long-time writer and photographer in Detroit and through fantastic archival photos dating back to the beginning. Starting as Bennett Park, we see the very roots of Tiger Stadium which began with seating for just a few thousand fans and would eventually accommodate nearly 60,000. A newspaper article from August 30,1905 touts the debut of an exciting new young player on the Tiger's team...one Ty Cobb, who would become one of the all-time greats. Another picture shows Cobb and rival Nap LaJoie checking out a baseball bat in 1907.

In 1912 the name was changed to Navin Field and construction brought the seating capacity to 30,000 in 1923. This was the era for the Tigers as such legends as Charlie Gerhinger, Sam Crawford, George Mullin, Mickey Cochran, and hank Greenberg would all make their mark on Tiger lore. The name changed once again in 1938 to Briggs Stadium. And in 1939, Briggs Stadium would be the spot where legend Lou Gehrig would have his consecutive game streak end at 2,130 games when he took himself out of the lineup before the game started.

In 1961 the stadium would get its last name change, this time to Tiger Stadium. 1968 was the Year of the Tiger as Detroit would erase a 3 - 1 deficit in the World Series with Mickey Lolich winning 3 games and the Tigers upset the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games to capture the world's championship. 1968 saw Denny McLain win 31 games, the last pitcher to win 30 games. In 1971 Tiger Stadium hosted one of the most famous all-star games in history. The American capture a rare win and the game featured home runs by six future Hall of Famers: Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, and the most famous of all...Reggie Jackson's titanic blast off the light tower above the roof of the old ball park.

1976 Was not a great year for the team but the stadium was packed every time a young pitcher named Mark Fidrych took the mound. Fidrych endeared himself to fans by grooming the mound on his hands and knees and talking to the baseball before he threw it. Fidrych would win rookie of the year honors and start the all-star game. 1984 may have been the greatest ever for the Tigers and the stadium as almost three million fans would pile into the park to see the Tigers get off to a 35-5 start, the greatest in history, and go on to steamroll the Royals in the playoffs and the Padres in the World's Series.

All good things come to an end and Tiger Stadium saw its last game on September 27, 1999. The Tigers would win the finale and after the game, dozens of former players, some as old as their 90's were brought out before the crowd for one more tribute. This is just a marvelous book for any Tiger or ANY baseball fan. A look at one of the most unique baseball parks ever built.

Reviewed by Tim Janson